just listen to me
by not.so.tragically
Summary: \\he sees that her blue eyes aren't icy, they're more like warm waters of a calm ocean now, and he's lost at sea


_"You push me back, I'll push you back, harder."_

* * *

Maya Hart knows pretty much nothing about baseball. She knows some people throw and some people swing and run. Lucas is one of the guys that swings and runs. That's pretty much the extent of it.

But, she knows that Lucas is kinda sucking horribly right now. She can tell by the way his coach either screams at him, or pats him on the back telling him to try harder. His face is twisted is anger and disappointment, at himself and the game. It's hard not to get sad with him, he looks completely pitiful right now, and it's breaking her damn heart. He's sitting with bat in hand, spitting at the ground and anyone would think this is the kind of moment she lives for, but she wishes it was tomorrow already, and the game was over, so she didn't have to watch anymore.

Zay's standing next to her, groaning into his hand and shaking his head. Maya sticks her hand in his popcorn and eats, chewing furiously.

Lucas is about to go bat again and she cringes internally. Then, she cringes physically when the umpire yells, "Strike one!"

Without properly thinking first, Maya swallows another handful of popcorn and runs down to the coach, who's wringing his hands. "Coach?"

"What is it, Hart?" Coach Sherman never takes his eyes off the game.

She has to speak fast. "Let me talk to Lucas."

This takes his attention away from the field, and onto the fiery blonde in front of him. "What? Why?"

"Cause, he's playing garbage right now and you know he's one of your best players, so you don't want to take him out. You need Lucas Friar. I can do that."

It's no secret what Maya can do to Lucas, everyone knows. The sweet Texas boy turns to something fierce and unseen by others when Maya decides to rile him up. He's kind and nice, but when he's with Maya, it's like throwing gasoline on a small fire. His jaw clenches, and his hands are balled into fists, but he's never seriously angry, it's just what she does to him. While he's soft-spoken and gentle with everyone else, with Maya he's rough and strong, tossing her over his shoulder, gripping her waist to grab her attention. It was just how she made him.

Coach Sherman looks between Maya and Lucas and hears the umpire shout, "Strike two!"

"Time out!" He turns to Maya, nodding. "90 seconds, Hart."

Maya runs to the batter's box where Lucas spits again before looking down at her in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you_ doing? You're royally sucking right now." She's straight to the point and it makes him chuckle wryly.

"Really?" He's eyes spark for a second, and Maya knows she has to keep going.

"Have you gone soft already? I mean, I'm two seconds away from taking you behind a barn and shooting you to put you out of your misery."

" _Maya?_ What the hell?" He half shouts at her.

The coach can hear him shouting and understands what's going on.

 _She's igniting him._

"I'm only speaking the truth."

" _No._ " **There it is.**

She leans upwards, on her toes, face inches away from his. "Then prove me wrong, Huckleberry." Maya smirks before pulling back out of his face, and walking away.

"Let's play ball!"

Lucas resumes his stance, staring down the pitcher, bat half over his shoulder. He licks his lips, twisting his hands at the grip of the baseball bat. The pitcher gears up and then let's it fly. Everyone in the stands waits to hear the umpire's gravelly voice, but, instead, is met with sound of the bat hitting the ball. The loud noise causes the audience to open their eyes and spring to their feet, watching the ball land in the corner of the outfield. Lucas drops the bat and takes off, moving quickly, nearly flying over the bases. Then, as he reaches home plate, he breaks out a huge grin as his teammates clap and cheer.

Maya's smirking triumphantly at the coach, while he struggles to close his mouth. Lucas jogs over to her and she expects him to gloat and brag about what just happened. Surprisingly, Lucas clutches her waist in one hand, pushing hair out her face with the other. He pulls her body to his, biting his bottom lip.

"Well, then."

"I know why you did that." Lucas smiles smugly.

"Did what?"

"That little thing in the box, riling me up like that."

She turns her head to side, dragging her eyes away from his, trying not to lean in closer and catch his full lips. "Oh?"

"You did that 'cause you like me, and you like getting in my face."

"I don't think that's it." Maya focuses on his jaw, but it eventually leads to her wanting to plant kisses on it.

Lucas lets his other hand settle on her waist, eyes watching her intently. "Oh?"

Maya is barely able to think up a lie fast enough to save herself from his spot on accusations. "I only did that because if the team lost because of you, you would mope and sulk for days. And we both know it's not as fun to kick you when you're down."

She's waiting on a quick retort, and when it doesn't come, she forces herself to look back into his eyes. He's staring at her, something indecipherable in his eyes.

He drops drops a swift kiss on her lips, before ripping himself away from her and returning to his team.

It leaves her awestruck, and she almost yells for him to come back and finish what he started, but instead she touches her lips and slinks back to her seat.

Zay's expression is both surprised and joyful as he points the bag of popcorn at her once again. "A little flushed aren't we?"

"Shut up, Babineaux."

* * *

The baseball team continues on with 5 game winning streak after that, and everyone on the team knows it's partly because of Lucas and the fire Maya starts in him.

She's able to unearth a blazing passion in him, along with something else.

They talk about it a few nights after his last game, watching _Roseanne_ , it's a personal favorite of theirs, the old show brings a dry, nostalgic humor that they both enjoy. Katy's working the night shift and Maya likes it when Lucas keeps her company during these times. Maya's feet are thrown in his lap, and she's wearing his blue t-shirt even though it's about 4 sizes too big, because she's behind on laundry. He's drawing light patterns up and down her legs, and when he reaches a sensitive spot under her right knee, she jumps automatically. "Don't touch there." She breathes, eyes still focused on the TV.

"Why?" His faces is a mix of confusion and amusement. His fingers ghost lightly around the spot, touching the area around it.

Her face is hard to read and he can't tell if she's being serious or not. "Just don't." He watches her reaction when his index fingers grazes the spot again, she flinches lightly, and he puts the puzzle pieces together.

"Could it be," He smiles, touching under her knee again. "That Maya Hart, is _ticklish_?"

"Shut up." This is confirmation to him. So he traces the spot again, and when she bites her lip to hold in a laugh, he snickers, and does it again. This time she's not as quick to hold in her laugh, then she releases a loud bark of laughter, making Lucas chuckle again.

"Well, folks, this a surprising turn of events, I must continue to investigate." Lucas speaks like a sports announcer, talking to an unknown audience. He holds her legs down as she starts kicking her feet, trying to free herself. Lucas tickles under her knees, and she lets out crescendos of high pitched laughter, filling the room. "She is! Maya is ticklish, well this quite the game changer."

"Stop!" Her face is turning red, trying to pull away is futile, so she resolves to unabashed begging now. Lucas' grip slackens just enough for her to slip one leg out, and he notices immediately when she twists herself from him. He climbs on top of her, tickling up and down her sides, letting her laughter occupy all the empty spaces he had in himself.

"What's the magic word?" He singsongs, liking how she gave up on breaking away from him.

She resists for mere minutes before crying out in defeat. "Please!" Lucas lets his hands fall from her sides, pushing them on either side of her head, to keep himself from crushing her with his full body weight. "You suck." Maya's voice is raw from laughter, and her face is tinged with pink, but he swears she's never been more beautiful to him.

"I don't really think so." His lips are inches from hers, and suddenly she brought to the game a few weeks ago.

Wrapped in his arms, tight against his body, adrenaline filled and fire burning, she was home.

"Well, I do." Only, she's not really focused on what she's saying, she's studying the curves of his lips, watching as they turn up in a light smile.

"I don't." He's whispering against her lips now, letting himself sink closer to her body. She smells like apples and oil pastels, it's purely her scent, and he finds it purely intoxicating.

Maya can tell he's teasing her right now by the way the corners of his lips twitch, normally she would hold out until he breaks. But, this is not a position they're in under normal circumstances, so his teasing only serves to frustrate her. He's still hovering over her lips, taunting her, and she's beyond irritated when she pushes her head up to catch his lips in between hers.

His response is immediate, kissing her back with such fervor that it drives her back into the couch cushion. Maya wraps an arm around his neck, parting her lips to let his tongue in her mouth.

 _And, oh, crap, did she actually just whimper?_

The sound is soft, barely noticeable, but it makes Lucas smile against her mouth. The space between their bodies is nearly nonexistent, still Maya curls a leg around his back to bring him closer to her. She runs her fingers lightly through his hair, tugging lightly at the strands. He lets out a something between a grunt and moan, and battles her tongue with passion.

But, the fumbling of the key in the door causes him to jump away from her like she'd burned him. She keeps her position on the couch, allowing her face to settle in a slight grimace.

"Sorry baby girl, I tried to get home as soon as I could, but it started raining, and ugh!" Katy's shaking out an umbrella, barely looking up from the task.

Lucas rises to his feet, walking to the door with his eyes on the floor. "Well, I'll see you at school Maya. Bye, Ms. Hart."

He's out the door before Katy can actually process that he spoke to her at some point and she looks between Maya and the closed door. "What's his problem?"

"Who knows?" She's still wearing his shirt, and it smell like him even more than before.

When they avoid each other for days afterwards, Maya doesn't come to the last two games of the regular season, and they still win. She's happy for him, she really is. And she knows that it isn't necessary for her to come to regionals, so she stays home alone, watching _Murder, She Wrote_ eating bread sticks. However, she makes sure Zay's at the game, just so there is some to cheer for Lucas regardless of how he plays.

Her phone rings, echoing through the empty apartment and digs in the couch cushions to get it. She answers without looking, too invested in figuring out who murdered the farmer.

"What?"

"Maya, you need to come here now."

Zay sounds hoarse and urgent, and she's worried.

"Why? What happened?" She's throwing on blue shirt to cover up her tank top, and she's not even sure if it's hers, as she speaks.

"Lucas is stinking so badly, it smells like compost over here." Maya slips on her boots, and grabs her house key off the front table and is out the door, running on the subway, phone clutched in her hands.

"That bad?"

"He needs you." The subway just isn't moving fast enough for her, and she's beyond impatient right now.

After what could've been 15 years, she sprints off the subway, going to her school, through the empty hallways to the baseball field. When she's gets there, she sees how badly the team is losing, and the coach wringing his hat in hands. Maya's out of breathe as she reaches him, seeing as how she never exercises, ever.

Coach Sherman's face is pure relief when he sees the small blonde approach him. "He's in the locker room."

Maya winces knowing how bad he feels, sitting in there alone. She jogs lightly now, pushing open the doors to where Lucas sits on a bench with his head in his hands.

"Huckleberry?" It's meant to sound light and teasing, but her genuine worry pours out of every letter. When he doesn't move, she moves silently to stand in front of him. "Lucas?"

"The team is going to lose, and it's my fault." He's speaking to the floor and his words come out mumbled and broken.

"No, they won't-"

"Yes, they will. I'm supposed to lead the team, and I can't do that."

He's still talking down in his palms, and it frustrates her when he's frustrated. She pulls his palms out of his face, and the look on his face is agony. "Yes, you can lead this team." She's holding his wrists in her hands, so she can speak to him face to face.

"I can't, Maya. I can't lead this team, I can't-" He drops his head again, and she hates herself for being so vulnerable with him.

She lets his wrists go and cradles his face in her hands. "You can." His eyes meet hers and he sees that her blue eyes aren't icy, they're more like warm waters of a calm ocean now, and he's lost at sea.

Time slows down as Maya slants her lips over his, kissing him full on the lips. His hands go up to her waist, pulling her to stand in between his open legs. Her hands slip from his face, one gripping his shirt in her hand, the other one sliding around his neck. It's a fierce battle, tongues swiping and pushing in her mouth. Lucas rises to his feet, hands tightening around her waist, pushing her back against the lockers. She's yanking him closer, sliding one leg up around his hips. He hoists her in the air as she locks both legs around his back, keeping her pressed between his body and the lockers. He moves his lips to random spots on her neck, sucking and biting the skin lightly.

"You're wearing my shirt." Lucas murmurs this into her neck, and this brings her back to where they actually are.

"Go finish the game." Her voice is strong and insistent, and it causes him to pull his lips away.

The fire's blazing behind his eyes again, and he lets her back down slowly. "Okay." Her hands return to her sides, fiddling with the end of his shirt, as he grabs his helmet off the ground along with his bat. He runs out of the locker room, and she lets her head tilt back against the cold metal, willing herself to come back to Earth. The doors to the locker room slam open again, startling her.

"I'm not done with you yet." He kisses her once more, as a promise to her.

As cliche as it gets, she blushes deeply, nodding in agreement.

 _He promised._

So, it's no surprise that he's able to find her through the huge crowd of chanting people after he hits the game-winning ball. Hoards of girls were already rushing to congratulate him, swarming him as the game ended. She watched from the bleachers with Zay, who just shook his head at them. The team had already begun cheers of his name, but he was looking for her. She's exiting the stands, Zay close behind, when he's pulling her off the last step of the stairs.

Maya's surprised shriek is like music to his ears and he grins when she locks her arms around his neck. Zay's face changes to unhinged amusement at the scene in front of him.

"We won!" He's nearly screaming over the noise of the crowd.

"You did." Maya's expression is relaxed and cool, despite the chaotic scene around them.

"I love you."

"What?" It's beyond unexpected and she's confused. At the time she was expecting a kiss and a laugh, then him being torn away by the crowd. But, no. He's confessing his love for her, in front of 75% of their school, and some other local school.

"I. Love. You." He speaks slowly, enunciating each word. She's dumbfounded and her mouth is open, readying a response but not knowing what to say. "You get that? I love you, and it took me so long to realize that, but I really do love you."

"I-I-I think-, I love you too." It's not the easy ideal, movie-like, response she knew he was hoping for.

Maya expects to see his face drop into a frown, and she'll have to apologize even though she didn't really do anything wrong, and things will be so horribly awkward after that. Then when he grins even wider, spinning her a few times before coming to a stop. "I know you do."

He kisses her once, twice, three times, setting her back on the ground. The roar of the crowd falls on deaf ears because they are wrapped up in each other's kisses. The gentle moment contrasting with clamor and screams of their surroundings.

Lucas is completely enveloped in everything that is Maya Hart and the fires she starts in him. It's a scorching inferno, burning and blazing inside of him and she holds a striker and sometimes gasoline. Her kisses bring out an intense passion he can only unlock with her next to him, and it's their crowning glory.

* * *

 **Lmao, so that happened. Again.**

 **I got this idea from my last story I published a few days ago (Summer Rain & Fire). And now I have a billion other ideas from this in itself.**

 **Yay.**

 **Riley's not really essential in this piece at all, so if I did write her in would make her look like a random background character, which she isn't, at all.**

 **So, yeah.**

 **P.S. omg, I'm loving The Art of Seduction by my mom (Tiramisuspice).**

 **P.P.S. The song quoted in the beginning is called "You Don't Know Me" Elizabeth Gillies, and I recommend reading this again while listening to that song because I listened to it while writing this story.**

 **So leave a review, PM for a request, talk to me if you want to, I'm pretty much always up.**

 **\- xoxo, Minnie -**


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